Wake
by Phoenix Bradley
Summary: An angsty KenshinXTomoe fic. Kenshin finds himself in the afterlife with the woman he'd loved more than anything and missed so terribly.


Wake  
by, Smeagol's girl

(A/N: I'm writing this cuz until I get Kenshin/Tomoe out of my system, I won't be able to continue my Avatar fic I'm currently working on. This is a songfic, and the song is fitting because the woman who wrote it, Corinna Fugate, wrote it to her lover who died suddenly and unexpectedly at a young age. I own nothing.)

Black hair was blowing in front of her face. Her dark eyes were staring down at him and her pale skin looked like porceline. She was so beautiful. He reached up and placed his hand on her face and smiled as he was able to actually touch her again.

_"Here in my room/ I lay and dream of you..."_

"Tomoe..." he whispered and sat up from the white bed. Looking around he realized he was in a place he did not recognize at all. Everything seemed to be so full of light and beauty, and even Tomoe was dressed in white and almost looked like an angel. In fact, as his vision adjusted she seemed to have a glow to her. And she was smiling, a sight he had seldom seen when she was alive. That was when he wondered, was he still alive?

_"Your lips are warm and your hands are in mine/ And we're walking through a moment in time/ But then I wake/ Then I wake..."_

"This is a dream..." he said softly. She simply stared at him and he stood up slowly, having a strange urge to at least move around. "It must be," he whispered.

"Must it?" she asked. He glanced at her and saw she was simply sitting there, not even looking at him. That was when he remembered... the sounds of swords clanking, flesh getting hacked, and the smell of his own blood spilling. Kaoru had been screaming somewhere, he was certain, and he had fallen to the ground. What happened after, he really couldn't remember. But as he looked around at this almost heaven-like surroundings, and Tomoe sitting right there, clear as day, it became rather obvious what had happened in the end. He looked at her again, and she stood up, walking over to him. He reached out and touched her face again... and she was real. She was real and she was there. It was no dream.

_"I close my eyes/ And you're right there/ Hand's are warm and running through my hair..."_

"This is real," he whispered, and being with her again was almost overwhelming. She nodded, smiling sadly at him as she leaned her face further into his hand, placing her own hand over his.

"I've missed you..." she said softly.

"What about your first lover?" he asked. "Surely you'd have run to him the moment you got here." She shook her head.

"You were the only one I've wanted to spend eternity with..." she said gently. "And I've been waiting so long..." A film of tears went over his eyes, bluring his vision, and he nodded at her.

"I know," he said. "I know." He drew her closer and pressed his lips to hers, feeling an old flame spark up inside him again. The warmth he thought he'd forgotten was there, and the happiness he thought he had failed to protect had returned. She was his reverie, and he knew he wanted to spend this eternity with her and her alone.

_"It's as if my scars were never even there/ And I'm kissing my love/ Kissing my love/ Kissing my love.../ But then I wake.../ Then I wake..."_

"Mom?" called a voice, and they broke apart reluctantly. Tomoe turned and a boy in his early teens was standing in the doorway. He had dark red hair cut short and black eyes like Tomoes. Kenshin felt his heart nearly stop. The boy looked at him for a moment and then looked back at Tomoe curiously. "Is that...?" he asked, pointing to Kenshin. Tomoe nodded and turned to Kenshin.

"I'd like you to meet our son, Koji," she said softly. Kenshin was still in a state of shock and looked at the boy, recognizing both his and Tomoe's features on his face. For a moment he was confused, but then he remembered the final night he'd been with Tomoe. They'd finally consumated their love in front of a burning fire, and after he had promised her that he would protect her happiness. He almost felt sick when he realized this meant she had been pregnant when... A wave of guilt came over him and he felt even worse about her death than ever before. If he'd only known about this...

The young man stared at the two of them unsure and Tomoe signalled for him to leave until the time was better. When he was gone she turned to Kenshin and said, "You promised to protect my happiness," she explained. "And you did. Koji is one of the most beautiful gifts you could have ever given me. Whenever I'd miss you, I need only look at him and I see you."

Kenshin smiled, now feeling the joy in the discovery, and he grabbed Tomoe and kissed her again, glad he was with her again, and now he had a son. With both of them he knew... he was home.

_"My head on the pillow/ All I want is to dream..."_

"Remember this," she said, and her voice suddenly sounded faint. "Whatever happens, always remember... I am happy. You have given me the greatest happiness I could ever want..." He looked at her, and realized even her touch didn't feel as strong.

"You're fading..." he said, beginning to panic.

"No," she answered. "I'm always going to be here. It's you who is leaving. Your friends have been fighting to revive you this entire time. You're starting to return to them..." Everything was starting to darken and he looked down at himself and realized he was transparent. Looking back up at her frantically he reached for her, but his hand went right through her.

"Tomoe!!!" he cried. She just smiled sadly and shook her head.

"I'll always be here, my love," she said softly. "I'll be here waiting for you until your day finally comes. I promise you." Everything was nearly black and he felt as if a rope had been tied around his waist and he was being yanked out of this paradise. Unable to stop it, he felt himself slowly awaken, the pain of many sword wounds the first thing that came to him.

_"Shadows on the walls/ No one hears no one calls/ Too much living in between..."_

He opened his eyes through tears and saw everyone was staring at him in concern. "There," said Megumi. "He's going to pull through."

"Thank goodness!" gasped Kaoru, who ran a hand through his hair, tucking a few stray locks behind his ear. She was crying and he realized he'd really scared them all. "I'm so glad you're going to be all right..." she said softly. He wanted to reply but couldn't. He closed his eyes and let the hot tears fall bitterly, unable to respond to any of them. When he was finally left alone he wept in the dark... wishing he had died... wishing he could be with the one he loved and stop lingering on in this godforesaken earth.

_"Then I wake.../ Then I wake..."_

After weeks of mending, he was soon back to his old self, and the depression passed. Still, once in a while he was caught staring up into the skies, as if trying to look at someone who was looking down on him. Though he lived his life to the fullest, continuing to fight for what he believed in, he was very eager to cross over when his time at last came. Until that time came though, he simply would think of Tomoe and his son, often visiting them in dreams. And those were the most bittersweet dreams he ever knew.

_"To wake is to break..."_

(A/N: That's all folks. Just had to get that out of my system. I made a tribute to Tomoe and Kenshin on youtube. Check it out sometime. I have my youtube channel down as my homepage on my fanfiction profile, and it's in both my video log right on the channel, and in the list of videos I've made. It's called 'Please Stay.' Check it out if you get the chance and as always R&R!)


End file.
